Problems with Soaring over the world??

I would disagree with this--I don't think you can make that kind of blanket statement. I have never felt even the slightest ill on Star Tours or any of the other motion simulators, but Flight of Passage was awful when in one of the seats towards the sides. I was done for the day. The first time I rode FOP I was in the center and while I didn't feel great afterwards, I was fine after a few minutes. Everyone is affected different by motion sickness, so it's really hard for someone else to gauge for you.

true - no two people are the same and nothing is going to be the same and there are no absolutes ... guess I took it as understood (but should have been more clear) that I meant it as in general, most people see to find it not as bad as Star Tours and from the many, many reports I have read, people that were ok with that were ok with FOP.
 
I would disagree with this--I don't think you can make that kind of blanket statement. I have never felt even the slightest ill on Star Tours or any of the other motion simulators, but Flight of Passage was awful when in one of the seats towards the sides. I was done for the day. The first time I rode FOP I was in the center and while I didn't feel great afterwards, I was fine after a few minutes. Everyone is affected different by motion sickness, so it's really hard for someone else to gauge for you.

Good to know. Even Star Tours is a disaster for me!
 
Bold for emphasis - I think you answered your own question.

If you knew that's what helped in the old film, shouldn't Imagineering have known that and worked the new video to take advantage of those same things?
You're missing my point completely. It's a limit of the Imax dome projection technolgy ther is no way that it can be ealsy fixed unless they made it to dark to notice it or obsured things with CGI clouds.
 
Maybe OP is just defending the imagineers cause he/she knows that if they had the power or technology to not make the image distorted that they'd do so. At the same time, if you've never experienced the ride first hand, it's a little bit on the arrogant side to call people "ignorant" for having an opinion on something. I'm definitely not here to attack anyone over it, I'm just sharing my interpretation of the posts....all in all, I think we have a right to be irritated when attractions, shows and the overall experience of the parks is less than satisfactory.
I was just trying to find a way to say how I feel when people talk about how easy it is to change something when they know nothing about it. Most people don't seem to know anything about how the film is shown and they just say "it's terrible and they need to fix it or they should have know better" Like I said in my post they probably did know about it and it's not something they can fix because the way the image is shown on the curved screen with a fisheye lens will be distorted because of that.
 


Rode it three days ago.

Was on the back row, towards the left, but on the "aisle", so to speak.

I didn't really notice the distortion from that seat, but the CGI was much more noticeable to me this time than it was the first time I saw the new version. Guess I was looking for it. Still, afterwards I thought to myself, "If I hadn't seen the original version, would I have a problem with this version?" And based on my experience from THAT seat, I don't think I would. It's still a great ride, at least from that vantage point.
 
There was applause after we rode it Wednesday. We opted for the center row and I was target fixated on the Eiffel Tower. Even with these seats, there was still a small amount of "bending", but nothing severe.
 
There was applause after we rode it Wednesday. We opted for the center row and I was target fixated on the Eiffel Tower. Even with these seats, there was still a small amount of "bending", but nothing severe.

I rode it 2 times about a week ago. Both times I asked for the center column. The Eiffel Tower was a bit tilted, but I'm not bothered.

I prefer this version to the original Soarin'.
 


Rode it three days ago.

Was on the back row, towards the left, but on the "aisle", so to speak.

I didn't really notice the distortion from that seat, but the CGI was much more noticeable to me this time than it was the first time I saw the new version. Guess I was looking for it. Still, afterwards I thought to myself, "If I hadn't seen the original version, would I have a problem with this version?" And based on my experience from THAT seat, I don't think I would. It's still a great ride, at least from that vantage point.

There was applause after we rode it Wednesday. We opted for the center row and I was target fixated on the Eiffel Tower. Even with these seats, there was still a small amount of "bending", but nothing severe.

I rode it 2 times about a week ago. Both times I asked for the center column. The Eiffel Tower was a bit tilted, but I'm not bothered.

I prefer this version to the original Soarin'.

I do think part of it is how much you are looking for things .... I know the first time I rode the new version I was in the middle and other than some bending to the Eiffel Tower I didn't notice that much as as for the CGI only one scene really detracted for me ...

... later, when I was more cognizant to look for such things and I rode on the side, I noticed a ton of distortion and more CGI and it really made it a lesser experience


I think if you go in wanting to enjoy the ride or not knowing about these issues you would enjoy it much more than if you go in expecting to be disappointed as then you will focus on the flaws.


Personally I think it is still a really fun ride, though do think it is worth asking to sit in the middle section
 
I think if you go in wanting to enjoy the ride or not knowing about these issues you would enjoy it much more than if you go in expecting to be disappointed as then you will focus on the flaws.
For some this is true I’m sure. My first time riding the new version I was seated quite far to one side and even though I’d heard nothing of the distortion beforehand, it was painfully obvious from where I was seated. I went in excited to see the new version, not looking for any flaws because I didn’t know they were there, but left the ride extremely disappointed.
 
I rode Soarin' in August of 2016. AKA, after California but pre Flight of Passage. It was my favorite ride at WDW. Yes, I was seated in the center section. No I have never been on any other VR type of screen ride. There are enough first time guests and people who have never ridden the old one to keep this version afloat. Seeing the bad publicity and poor reviews, I wish I had had the opportunity to ride the California version, but alas, no soup for me. I am also super excited to ride FoP on my next trip and it may sway my entire opinion on Soarin', or it may be like apples and oranges and comparisons don't apply. Who knows?

With nothing to compare it to, this ride still blows away a lot of people.
 
It's not that the ride isn't enjoyable, warts and all, but the bending and tilting is noticeable and many people comment on it. I don't know anything about the technology employed to create this ride, but then again I don't know or care about the technology used on any of the rides, I just want to have an entertaining experience. If the tech limitations used in Soarin' are impacting some people's ability to enjoy the ride, that's a problem, IMO. I like Soarin', but I do think once a large number of riders insist on sitting only in the center, it will become a problem Disney will have to address.
 
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You're missing my point completely. It's a limit of the Imax dome projection technolgy ther is no way that it can be ealsy fixed unless they made it to dark to notice it or obsured things with CGI clouds.
No, I got your point. You keep saying there is no easy fix, but you have come up with at least 3 easy fixes: Make it too dark to notice, obscure things with CGI clouds, or don't put them in the frame as often.

That's exactly three more things than what the Imagineers attempted to do to fix it.

I think we all get the limitations of the Imax dome and they were the same limitations that they were able to get around with the last film. Whether they used an 'easy fix' or some hard fix last time, they didn't for this latest film. That was either an intentional choice or they totally missed it. I'm not sure which is worse.
 
Guilty as charged. Had this anomaly not been pointed out, I highly doubt I would have been cognizant enough to even notice it.

I loved Soarin' California and it used to be my favorite ride at WDW and I went into the new Soarin' excited to see something different but the bending of the Eiffel Tower was so obvious my jaw dropped. It represented something I had been feeling over the last few years, that Disney just didn't care anymore about the guest experience. Although I am not a film maker, I did notice that the whale and polar bear was of course too good to be real but reality isn't something I go to WDW for so it didn't feel wrong or off putting. The distortions are so obvious to the most casual observer that it screams "I don't care."
 
I loved Soarin' California and it used to be my favorite ride at WDW and I went into the new Soarin' excited to see something different but the bending of the Eiffel Tower was so obvious my jaw dropped. It represented something I had been feeling over the last few years, that Disney just didn't care anymore about the guest experience. Although I am not a film maker, I did notice that the whale and polar bear was of course too good to be real but reality isn't something I go to WDW for so it didn't feel wrong or off putting. The distortions are so obvious to the most casual observer that it screams "I don't care."

Not sure I would go so far as to say “don’t care” was their view - I think it might be a case of overweighting the upside vs downside

That is, they thought of some really cool locations and thought the trade off for the distortion was worth it (like, and A+ experience was a 5% lessening is still amazing) ... but I think for many that turned out to be not the case (for them it is like a B+ experience with 20% lessening on top of that)

Now ideally they would have come up with something to eliminate even the 5% lessening but they probably thought it was worth it vs starting off with a less experience
 
I think we all get the limitations of the Imax dome and they were the same limitations that they were able to get around with the last film.
I think this is really the key issue here. Yes, Imax dome projections have limitations, but the original Soarin film was excellent and didn't have the issues present in the new version. Clearly, it's possible to create a film in such a way that those limitations don't create a problem. For whatever reason, Disney chose to ignore that this time around and present what so many of us feel is an inferior product.
 
Guilty as charged. Had this anomaly not been pointed out, I highly doubt I would have been cognizant enough to even notice it.

I had the opportunity to interview one of the cast members who designed this attraction during a media event at California Adventure. Based on what she said, I was looking forward to watching it. The first time I rode it I sat to the far right. I think we had the last two seats next to the door in the middle section. The first scene was so cool with the polar bears, but when the killer whales conveniently showed up, I realized that that was cgi (I'm usually a good audience and not one to look for flaws, especially first time seeing something.) The Matterhorn was cool, and I don't think the distortion really bothered me too much, but the transitions were a little distracting to me, and the Eiffel Tower was skewed so much that it took me out of the experience. I had no prior knowledge of what to expect, was looking forward to seeing what Disney came up with, and came out of the attraction so disappointed. I didn't want to be disappointed. I wanted to love this, especially since it replaced an experience that I thought was near perfect and one that I looked forward to going on with almost every visit.

The second time I rode Soarin', I asked for the center, and enjoyed the experience much more. If this had been my first experience, I don't think I would have paid attention to the distortion, and I am sure it wouldn't have taken me out of the experience. I think the Imagineers did the attraction a disservice in choosing such tall, vertical icons to showcase. Later, I found out that other scenes were totally fabricated. This disappoints me immensely because I feel a little cheated out of experiencing the 'real deal.'

I will still go on it as single rider or fastpass, but I don't love it like the original; and I feel badly for the Imagineers, because I believe that they thought they had a hit with these new experiences.

I think this is really the key issue here. Yes, Imax dome projections have limitations, but the original Soarin film was excellent and didn't have the issues present in the new version. Clearly, it's possible to create a film in such a way that those limitations don't create a problem. For whatever reason, Disney chose to ignore that this time around and present what so many of us feel is an inferior product.

Yup - agreed.
 
I was dead center the first time we rode after the change and didn’t understand all of the negativity. I was even fine with the CGI. It wasn’t until my second time, when I was in the very last seat on the side did I see all of the issues. I didn’t go in expecting a disappointing experience in light of my prior one, but this was awful. I’d later ride a bit closer to center in section C and it was still bad. So, you can go in with a positive state of mind and still walk out disappointed.

Ultimately, the gripes shouldn’t be interpreted as an ignorance over the technology and such involved. It’s about the original film being designed to provide a much better experience from all vantage points in the attraction. People already waited for first row to avoid the dangling feet (which isn’t a huge deal to me), but as time goes on, more and more will also be waiting to ride in the center to avoid the horrible distortion. We think that’s too much hassle and won’t be going out of our way to ride it at all.

I know some people brush it off and don’t really care, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation to provide all guests with a comparable ride quality experience...especially when the film’s predecessor was able to do this for guests. As Disney fans, we’re often accused of being quick to anger over changes and failing to embrace the new with open arms, but I think it’s warranted when you replace a popular product with something of a lesser standard.
 
Like WebmasterJo I went in with a positive attitude sure I was going to like it and the distortion threw me out of the experience.

I was dead center the first time we rode after the change and didn’t understand all of the negativity. I was even fine with the CGI. It wasn’t until my second time, when I was in the very last seat on the side did I see all of the issues. I didn’t go in expecting a disappointing experience in light of my prior one, but this was awful. I’d later ride a bit closer to center in section C and it was still bad. So, you can go in with a positive state of mind and still walk out disappointed.

Ultimately, the gripes shouldn’t be interpreted as an ignorance over the technology and such involved. It’s about the original film being designed to provide a much better experience from all vantage points in the attraction. People already waited for first row to avoid the dangling feet (which isn’t a huge deal to me), but as time goes on, more and more will also be waiting to ride in the center to avoid the horrible distortion. We think that’s too much hassle and won’t be going out of our way to ride it at all.

I know some people brush it off and don’t really care, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation to provide all guests with a comparable ride quality experience...especially when the film’s predecessor was able to do this for guests. As Disney fans, we’re often accused of being quick to anger over changes and failing to embrace the new with open arms, but I think it’s warranted when you replace a popular product with something of a lesser standard.

I agree completely.

Epcot has always been my favorite park and this felt like another blow, like something else had been taken away like Off Kilter was or World Showcase Players. I love Impression de France and it went from continually running all day down to twice a hour. It is great that they are adding and expanding the festivals but if you went to Epcot on a regular day 10 years ago I think it would have been a better experience than a regular day in 2018.
 
This raises a new question, in my mind, that I cannot answer. If there was no attention given to this, I'll call it an oversight, would it be substantial enough to call it out on ride #1? I've ridden the new version of Soarin' and the first time, I was more in inquisitive mode and not as eager to point of deficiencies. It was only rides 2 through 8, and reading about the effect, that it really dampened my experience.

As such, I am thankful. I will no longer burn a FP for Soarin' and Test Track gets my traffic.
 

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